Gamble
by Melissa Moore
Summary: The most popular boy in school has placed a bet with his best friend that he can get the new girl into bed before the class trip, but she ends up being more feisty, and having more depth, than he anticipated. Usagi&Mamoru.


**A/N: **I realize this plot has probably been done a million times over, but what kind of author would I be if I shied away from writing a story just because the plot had been used? I hope you all enjoy a different perspective on a teenage love story. I heard – or read – somewhere that in Japan instead of the students changing classrooms the teachers do. If that's incorrect, I'm sorry, but that's the school format my story is going to use.

**Summary: **The most popular boy in school has placed a bet with his best friend that he can get the new girl into bed before the class trip, but she ends up being more feisty, and having more depth, than he anticipated.

**Gamble  
****Chapter One  
****By Melissa Moore**

"Hey man, did you hear?" A blonde boy named Furuhata Motoki leaned over to whisper to his best friend during homeroom.

"Not really," Chiba Mamoru said lazily, putting his hands behind his head and yawning loudly. The teacher stopped what he was writing on the whiteboard and turned to glare, earning snickers from the rest of the class. Being the most popular – and richest – kid at school did have its benefits.

"Rumor has it a new girl just transferred here today," Motoki carried on, completely undaunted by his friend's nonchalant attitude.

Mamoru glanced over at him, one raven-hued eyebrow arching. "And that would concern me how?"

Motoki just grinned. "Rumor also has it that she's **hot**."

Turning his cobalt eyes back to glance at the whiteboard, he sighed. "There are a lot of hot girls in this school, Motoki."

The blonde boy didn't seem perturbed by his casual use of his first name. They had been friends since they were five years old, after all. "No, no. You don't understand. The guys who have seen her say that she's the hottest girl they've ever laid eyes on."

Although it took a lot to get Mamoru to really be invested in something, he had to grudgingly admit that his curiosity was piqued. As he swept his gaze around the room, it was only then that he noticed most of the boys in their class were gone. That was a rare occurrence in itself, the boys absolutely loved to drive their homeroom teacher insane.

After a few more minutes of his droning lecture for the day, the chime finally rang and the teacher picked up his bag and left.

"First period. Bet you anything she comes in with the teacher," Motoki chattered, staring at the door to the classroom intensely.

"You're going to scare her off if you stare like a creep the moment she walks in," Mamoru joked. Inwardly he wished that wouldn't be the case. Now that Motoki seemed so interested, he himself couldn't help but feel a bit of that excitement, even if he chose not to show it. He had never seen his friend so fired up about seeing a girl.

The warning bell for the beginning of the class rang, indicating to the students that were milling about the classroom to get back to their seats and bring out their next period's textbook – algebra. Motoki groaned in mock strain as he slammed the book on top of his desk with a resounding boom. "Just what everyone needs first thing in the mor..." He trailed off then, his eyes going wide as saucers as he stared in the direction of the classroom door.

Mamoru didn't have to ask him what had caught his attention. It was easy to guess when every student went dead silent. As the teacher, Ms. Haruna, entered and turned to the students, she said happily, "Good morning, class. I'd like to introduce to you a new transfer student. Please, come in."

It seemed like everyone's breath was drawn in at once when the girl standing in the hallway came in, and Mamoru had to struggle in order to keep his own jaw from dropping.

She was slender and tall, not overly so, with large blue eyes the color of the ocean framed by long dark lashes. Her lips were small, plump, and pink, shimmering with what looked like lip gloss. Her skin was tan and her pert nose had a smattering of freckles across the bridge, indicating that she was a girl who enjoyed spending time in the sun. Earrings shaped like crescent moons dangled from her small ears, and she had curves in all the right places. But the most striking feature was her hair, long blonde hair tied in a rather peculiar hairstyle that would have made someone laugh if it weren't for the way it caught the light and flowed like molten gold.

She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful girl Mamoru had ever seen.

"Why don't you introduce yourself to the class?" Ms. Haruna prodded.

With a start and a becoming blush, she turned toward the other students and bit her lip nervously before saying, "G-good morning. My name is Tsukino Usagi. I hope we'll get along in the coming years!" And with that, she bowed.

Not only was she beautiful, but her voice was too, soft and graceful. He could almost hear the sighs of all the boys in class as they fell in love with her right on the spot.

"We have a seat open, but unfortunately it's in the back row. Chiba-kun, please raise your hand."

Mentally shaking his head to get rid of the cobwebs that had suddenly appeared, he saluted the girl lazily, his eyes sparkling when he caught her confused glance. Without another word, she walked down his aisle, acutely aware of all the eyes on her and trying desperately not to trip. Unfortunately, she did just that, catching her foot on a fellow student's book bag and sprawling forward right at the feet of the boy she was destined to sit next to for the rest of the semester.

Mamoru just couldn't seem to help himself. While everyone else was fussing and trying to find out whether or not she was okay, he burst into hearty laughter. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at the raven-haired boy in astonishment, except for one. Usagi stood, brushing her skirts off with red cheeks and a withering glare in place. "I'm glad that you find my pain so amusing."

"It's not your pain I find amusing," he laughed, wiping the starts of tears in his eyes. "You're quite an interesting girl, Tsukino Usagi-san." He sent her his most flirtatious smile, fully expecting her to go weak in the knees and flutter her eyelashes at him just like every other vapid female in the school.

Which was why his mouth dropped open when she retorted scathingly, "Direct your interests somewhere else, lover boy."

Mamoru heard something that sounded suspiciously like a snicker from his right where Motoki sat. All the girls in class had suddenly begun to stare at Usagi like she was a horned demon, while all the boys looked at her with a new sense of respect. As she sat at her desk and got settled in, the teacher cleared her throat with a twinkle in her eye. "All right, back to your desks, please. You will all have time to get acquainted with our new student later. Let's get started with today's lesson, shall we?"

As Ms. Haruna turned to the whiteboard, Mamoru couldn't help but sneak glances at the girl sitting next to him. Now that she was closer, he could see that her lips weren't as small as he initially believed. Her top lip was small with a charming cupid's bow, her lower lip plump and glistening in what seemed like an invitation. As her perfectly arched eyebrows furrowed in concentration and her pen flowed across her paper, Mamoru found his mouth go dry as her teeth bit down on her lower lip.

Turning his attention back to his own textbook, he scowled darkly. Since when did a pretty girl affect him this way? He could think of many ways pretty girls had affected him, but none of them had ever made his heart skip a beat or quicken his breath with such a simple gesture as biting their lip. He prided himself on his cool, detached demeanor when dealing with the fairer sex, but this girl was intriguing. He had never had a girl reject him, and the ease with which she'd done it had been abrasive to his self-confidence.

He glanced over at Motoki, and with a devilish grin he whispered, "Let the games begin."


End file.
